Escarpment + Parkside Village

In 2002, the Center met with the principals of Austin-based Stratus Properties to establish green building protocols for a planned retail development in environmentally sensitive southwest Austin. What began as an unexpected and rare expression of interest from the development community at the time has evolved into successive collaborations to establish meaningful and measurable accomplishments at a scale for which few visible examples exists in this region.

The initial engagement resulted in the first green building restrictive covenants for a retail development in central Texas; guidance and oversight on the implementation of the restrictive covenants during active development and tenant fit-out; and a vibrant 168,000 square foot neighborhood-based retail center where every building aligns with an ambitious protocol requiring enhanced stormwater management and treatment; night sky protection; compliance with the City’s native plant-dominated Grow Green list, prohibiting invasive plants; minimum 20% reduced energy and water use relative to code; minimum 50% diversion of construction debris by weight; provision for storage and collection of recyclables; a minimum 25% recycled content and 20% local/regional materials (by cost); low-emitting adhesives, sealants, paints and coatings, carpet, and all composite wood free of added urea-formaldehyde, to name a few.

While these efforts seem mundane eight years later, at the time they represented a bold pragmatism to shape a development around principles that fundamentally respond to place and people, while creating a financially successful development.